JFK library highlights Kennedy’s presidency

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By Anamika Roy

The Telegram

By Anamika Roy

Posted Nov. 13, 2013 at 12:09 PM

By Anamika Roy
Posted Nov. 13, 2013 at 12:09 PM

BOSTON, Mass.

Imagine being in the room with former President John F. Kennedy and his top advisers, debating courses of action against the Soviets during the Cuban Missile Crisis, coming to terms with the fact that the United States might be facing nuclear war.

This experience is possible at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum at its special exhibit, “On the Brink: JFK and the Cuban Missile Crisis.”

The museum’s 25 exhibits created with artifacts and archival footage start with Kennedy’s presidential campaign trail and walk visitors through 1,000 days he held office, before his assassination, 50 years ago this month.

This is the time to look at the ideas Kennedy championed and challenges he set for the nation, said Tom Putnam, director of the JFK Library and Museum. The museum is designed to give visitors of all ages from around the world, the chance to revisit a critical time in the nation’s history.

Before seeing the exhibits, visitors watch a 17-minute film introduction, narrated by JFK. The film, based on interviews Kennedy gave throughout his life, shows his early life as a young Harvard graduate who traveled the world, a congressman who represented the state’s 4th District, a senator and as a husband when he married Jacqueline Bouvier. The film leaves off in 1958, when Kennedy decided to run for president.

“He is the tour guide,” said Putnam of the introduction.

From there, visitors are taken into an exhibit with storefront models from the 1960 presidential campaign against Richard Nixon. Newspaper stands from The Boston Globe, Washington Post, The New York Times and others serve as landmarks documenting important days from the campaign, election night and Kennedy’s inaugural address.

Walking through this exhibit gives the visitor a chronology of the 1960 election. Video of the first televised presidential debate between Nixon and Kennedy plays on one side, while a map of the country from election night is displayed on the other. This exhibit ends with Kennedy’s iconic inaugural address from Jan. 20, 1961. The words, “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country,” play on a large screen with national magazines from that week in America’s history lining the back. Pearl-white invitations to the inauguration are laid out underneath.

As the sound of Kennedy’s voice trails off in the previous room, visitors are shown to a lifelike recreation of the entrance to the White House. The gateway to the next line of exhibits is met with a large presidential seal and the American flag to its left. While most museum visitors will never experience life in the Oval office, this is likely the next best thing. With a long red carpet down a large hallway and chandeliers overhead, visitors get a taste of the Kennedy White House. This hallway branches off into several smaller rooms, each an exhibit documenting landmarks from JFK’s presidency.

Page 2 of 2 - The first in this line of exhibits shows clips from the televised news conferences held during the Kennedy administration. It also includes documents from Kennedy’s White House files which show issues he was committed to tackling as president. This same exhibit plays Kennedy’s famous “Ich bin ein Berliner,” speech given from the steps of West Berlin’s City Hall which marked a turning point in the Cold War.

The archival videos used throughout the museum make Kennedy’s legacy more vivid to visitors. The exhibit at the end of the red carpet dedicated first lady Jacqueline Kennedy is an example of this. With her grand wedding dress at the center,

visitors can watch a short film she narrated about her time in the White House.

“It was really the happiest time of my life,” she says.

In remembrance of the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s murder in Dallas, the museum will be unveiling a special display titled, “A Nation Remembers” on Nov. 22. The display will focus on the three days after Kennedy’s assassination. It will include the flag draped on the former president’s coffin, boots from the “riderless horse”, a horse that is part of a military ceremony signifying a fallen warrior, photographs and condolence letters sent – by the thousands - to the first lady.

“His death was a monumental moment in our nations history. Anyone who lived through that day knows what it’s like tragically to lose a leader,” said Putnam. The display will be open until Dec. 31.

The building’s magnificent architecture, designed by I.M. Pei, makes for a true spectacle on Massachusetts Bay. The museum’s waterfront location was picked by Jacqueline Kennedy and gives a magnificent view of the Boston skyline beyond that part of Massachusetts JFK loved best, the ocean.

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Visiting the library and museum

Name: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, which opened in 1979, located at Columbia Point in Boston.

By car: From Rte. 193: take exit 15 (north) or exit 14 (south) to Morrissey Boulevard and follow signs to library. Parking is free.

By public transit: Take the MBTA’s Red Line to the UMass/JFK stop and ride the #2 free shuttle bus, which comes every 20 minutes.